“Baba Yaga and the Land of Forgetting” @ HALLOW STORIES

This past Saturday was Queen City Saturday in Poughkeepsie, and POKLIT, the series of readings I organize, contributed to the day of the arts with HALLOW STORIES, a collaboration between myself and Bettina Gold Wilkerson, better known as Poet Gold. HALLOW STORIES was a spliced-together performance of spoken word and lyric poetry by Gold, Glenn Werner, and Gold’s Evolving Wordsmiths, which took place between scenes of my newest short play, “Baba Yaga and the Land of Forgetting”…

…in an empty, crumbling historic firehouse.

Baba Yaga Returns to Poughkeepsie

 

This weekend in POK, come out to hear a staged reading of one of my short Baba Yaga plays, “Baba Yaga and the Land of Forgetting,” as well as poetry “intermissions” featuring local Hudson Valley poets, who will lead the audience through the empty Lady Washington Firehouse in between scenes of the play. It’s going to be creepy and fun! I am working hard on a miniature Baba Yaga hut marionette, made of wire and felt, just for the occasion.

Linda Roper returns as Baba Yaga, after originating the role in May’s performance of “Baba Yaga and the 5 Steps of Hypothetical Grief” in the Poughkeepsie Sculpture Park, and Michele McNally and Mark Stochmal will also be returning to read/perform the roles of “Woman Who is Not Vasilisa” and “Mortimer/Koschei the Deathless.” Myself, I will be reading the part of “Death, Who is a Little Girl.” Gina Samardge and Andy Rinehart will be on hand providing accordion accompaniment.

Poetry will be read and performed between scenes of the play, in the nooks, crannies, and large empty rooms of the historic building by Poet Gold, a phenomenal and inspiring spoken word poet, and her mentees the Evolving Wordsmiths, as well as Glenn Werner of Beacon, NY.

Come out and hear as POK writers read their fears–bonus? It’s free.

You can find out more at www.facebook.com/POKLIT, and at the event page.

Many-Fur, Lost Among the Sculptures

Ah, readers. I missed you too. I know, I know, it’s been a while. But MAN WHAT A COUPLE OF WEEKS.

Don’t worry, all these seats filled up later…

Many of you know already that I live in strange little city at the end of the Metro North Hudson line called Poughkeepsie. Vassar’s at one end, Marist’s at the other, and in between is a very run-down no man’s land, a Main Street that is home to many closed and empty storefronts, grass-covered lots, and, in hiding, a ton of artists.

Cool Stuff is Happening in Poughkeepsie

Vestibule/Bertha’s Funeral—Artists & community come together to say goodbye to the Poughkeepsie Sculpture Park: a collaboration between Cate Fricke, Sovereign Nation and the Dutchess County Arts Council.

On Sunday, May 20th, two sister events will be taking place on Poughkeepsie’s Main Street!

One, Vestibule: a pop-up gallery exhibition in the hallways of 303 Main St., featuring work by both local and international artists. The work will be on display from 5-8pm.

Two, Bertha’s Funeral: Authors and actors present work by Hudson Valley writers in a site-specific reading–fiction by Tom Westchester and Nora Olsen, Poetry by Karen Michel, Peter Van Aken, and the late Jeanne Fitzgerald, and two short plays by Cate Fricke. Actors include Michele McNally, Mark Stochmal, JD Whitt, and Linda Roper. Performance begins at 6pm in the Poughkeepsie Sculpture Park.